Beautiful Lies
by beforethestorm.88
Summary: AU: Chris and Lorelai married and Rory grew up in high society. She, Logan, Finn, Colin and Stephanie are all best friends. Her life seems perfect, truly wonderful. However, Rory is hiding a dark secret. What happens when her friends find out? ROGAN
1. Serenity

**Beautiful Lies**

AU: Chris and Lorelai married and Rory grew up in high society. She, Logan, Finn, Colin and Stephanie are all best friends. Her life seems perfect, truly wonderful. However, Rory is hiding a dark secret. What happens when her friends find out? ROGAN

Disclaimer: Don't own Gilmore Girls.

NOTE: contains self harm, drug and alcohol use and eating disorders. Takes place in grade 11 at Chilton. Lastly, I guessed Rory and Logan's birthday.

Chapter 1: Serenity

Rory Hayden sat in her classroom staring blankly at the wall. Behind her, two of her best

friends, Logan Huntzberger and Colin McRae were planning for the next days prank. Something

involving water balloons, tape, and copious amount of red food colouring was all she gathered.

Every so often the boys would poke her and ask her for her input. Rory waved them off under the

pretense that she had to follow her English lesson. Yes, another lie. She wondered which one it

was. She had lost count over the past year. But, she thought, they had almost made their way into

her fortress of lies. Once.

FLASHBACK

"Ace," Logan said, "aren't you a little warm in that sweater?" Rory's blue eyes shot up

and met Logan's green ones. "Oh, no. I'm fine. It's a bit cold in your house, that's all." Colin,

who was watching Cruel Intentions upside down, looked up. "It's the middle of summer. And

we're all dying of heat. Thanks to Finn breaking the AC last week." Finn rolled his eyes and

continued to watch the movie. Rory gave a weak smile and pulled her sleeves down past her

wrists and folded her arms. Stephanie, who had been watching the whole exchange out of the

corner of her eye, exchanged a worried glance with Logan but said nothing.

END FLASHBACK

"Miss Hayden? Excuse me? Miss Hayden?" Rory jumped out of her trance and looked guiltily at her teacher, Mr. Johnson. "Sorry sir." she mumbled. He nodded and proceeded to

lecture about the vast imagery found in _Romeo and Juliet_. A minute later, she felt a piece of paper

being forced into her hand. She unfolded it and recognized Logan's handwriting at once. _What's _

_going on with you?_ Rory turned around and smiled at him. She mouthed "nothing" and again

smiled. He nodded and turned back to Colin. Rory sighed to herself, happy she avoided getting

caught again. Suddenly the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Rory gathered her things and

made a beeline for the door.

Rory wove through the sea of students and finally reached her locker. "Hello love." a

voice said. Rory inwardly gasped in shock but she turned around with an all-too-happy smile on

her face. "Hey Finn." she said. The Australian boy, Finn Morgan, looked at her questioningly for a

while, knowing something wasn't right. Not wanting to annoy her, he opened his locker,

deposited a few books and turned to speak to Rory. However, she was now getting her things at

top speed. Among the hundreds of pictures that graced her locker of herself and the group Finn

noticed something. The pictures taken over the past summer had shown a change in Rory.

Something about her smile was different. He met her eyes and was about to open his mouth when

she quickly hugged him and said goodbye. With a sweep of her chocolate brown hair, she was

gone. Leaving Finn to find the rest of his needed papers.

Stephanie Vanderbilt stood at Chilton's front gates tapping her feet impatiently. _Where the _

_hell was Rory,_ she wondered. Her best friend was never late. Rory had practically been punctual

since they were in diapers. A baby who would arrive at 1 pm, on the dot, for every single playdate

was something of a miracle. Her blonde hair blew about her face, brushing into her eyes. Finally

she saw Rory bustling out the door, car keys in hand, looking flustered. "Hey Rory!" Steph said

as the pair walked towards Rory's Mazda. Rory smiled back as she threw her stuff onto the backseat and waited for Steph to get in. "Sorry I'm late." Rory apologized. "It took a while to get

everything." Steph nodded and a minute later they were off, speeding through Hartford on their

way home.

Rory burst through her bedroom door, threw her bag towards her desk, shut the door and

fell on her bed. She layed there for what was at least half an hour before she pulled herself up. As

she looked at the calendar she realized what day it was, November 16th. Their anniversary. It was

the first time they met. A match made in heaven. Six months now. Rory's musings were cut short

as a knocking was heard at the door. "Hello my darling daughter. How was school today?" her

mother Lorelai asked as she opened the door. "Great," Rory replied. "We're doing Shakespeare in

English class." Lorelai stared for a second before she said, "Really? Well I didn't suspect Logan

or Colin to be his type, but sure." Rory giggled at her mother's antics, surprised that she still

could. "Well hun, speaking of Logan, he's here right now. Wants to talk." Rory nodded and made

her way down the stairs.

There in the kitchen, was Logan. He was eating some kind of fruit at the island. "For

shame Logan!" Lorelai moaned, "Eating fruit in this house. It's a sin. We must destroy you."

Logan rolled his eyes and continued to munch on his fruit. After a while, he and Rory made their

way upstairs. "Rory you want dinner now or later?" her mother called. "I'm ok. Thanks Mom. I

had a huge lunch at school." Lorelai acknowledged her response and went to living room to

watch some TV. "You didn't" Logan said as he quietly shut the door. "Didn't what?" Rory asked

innocently, although knowing full well what was going on. "Eat. You. Didn't." he replied. "At

lunch you barely touched your food. You just had your ginger snaps, two grapes which Finn

begged you to eat and water." Rory said nothing. "Listen Ace. I've known you since we were

born. And since then we've been a team. Rory and Logan. Logan and Rory. It's always been me and you. And I know something's wrong, just please tell me." Rory stayed silent during Logan's

speech. She knew that on some level he was right. It had always been them since October 8th

1988. Later Finn, Colin and Steph were thrown into the mix at around the age of one. But even

so, Rory and Logan would always remain best friends. Mulling all this over, she looked up at

Logan. "I'm fine. Really I am. It's just that I've been tired this week, might have rubbed off." she

lied smoothly. "It's not just this week. It's been a while. But, alright fine. Take a nap, Ace, maybe

it'll help." And with that, Logan left. Rory waited till she saw him drive down the road before she

ran into her bathroom. She sat on the white marble floor and pulled out her razor. "Happy

anniversary." she whispered to herself as she drew the blade across her wrist.


	2. Confusion

**Beautiful Lies**

AN. Thank you all for your reviews! I seriously am shocked. I never had this many reviews for one chapter. I really and truly appreciate it guys:)! I know that the story's sad at the moment, but don't worry, Rory will find happiness. And a lot of you thought she was pregnant, that gives me an idea for later. Oh! And to justine260, thanks for pointing out Logan's eye colour:). I always thought they were green lol. Lastly, sorry if the format gets screwed up. Something's wrong with my word perfect.

Thank you to:

KarahBella

coffeeaddict1515

LHTDfan

happybunnygurli

melako17

justine260

cosmopolitan

rockrose

Sweet-little-devil-one

Chapter 2: Confusion

Logan was sitting on his bed staring idly at his biology homework as if it would magically

start and finish itself for him. Try as he might, concentration was not in the cards for him tonight.

Something was wrong with Rory, definitely since the summer. He had tried countless times to get

her to talk to him. He knew, that as her best friend, this could easily be sorted out. Or could it? If

it was this huge, maybe she thought that he couldn't help. Or wouldn't understand. "Logan,

honey. Finn's on the phone." his mother Shira said as she placed the cordless phone on his bed.

"Hey Finn." "Hey mate." Finn replied. "Listen Logan, something's up with Rory, and it's big. She

hasn't truly smiled since finals last year. She hardly ever laughs or throws an input to the group.

It's like our Rory vanished and this new one appeared." Ever since he had known Finn, Logan

saw him as a carefree spirt. Someone who wouldn't eat their peanut butter sandwiches in

kindergarten because they weren't exotic enough. As they grew older, the Australian become a

complete ladies' man. A definite charmer. Finn Morgan could get any girl into bed in the spam of

10 minutes, 5 if he was drunk. How that worked, Logan didn't know, but Finn established that

the girls pitied his "bad boy image." Despite all this Logan knew that Finn truly cared for his

friends. Now wasn't an exception. "I know Finn," Logan replied, "but she isn't talking. And she

always insists that she's fine." "She's not mate, and we all know this. Have you noticed she

doesn't eat lunch anymore? I wouldn't be bloody well surprised if she skips other meals too.

And whenever there's a party, she drinks herself into an oblivion and then gets stoned out of her

mind." "She doesn't have fun anymore, and she certainly doesn't pace herself." Logan agreed,

"It's just to forget." A silence fell over the boys as they pondered their words. "Sorry mate, gotta

run." Finn said after a while, "The lovely Jessica is paying me a house call soon." Logan smirked

as he said goodbye. Yes some things never change, but some do, and it can lead to trouble.

Meanwhile, down the street, Rory was wiping the specks of blood off of her marble floor.

There was no way in hell she would get caught. Placing a gauze on one of her fresh cuts she

gazed into the mirror. Looking at herself, she felt nothing, a complete numbness. Once, her blue

eyes radiated joy and happiness. Now, they were sunken swirls of the deep, dark ocean floor. Her

skin was always pale, although now there was an unhealthy grey tinge to it. Courtesy of her

skipped meals and binges. She wrapped her arms around her tiny body and exited the bathroom.

Every so often, the question of how this started inflicted her mind. She remembered that at

the beginning of the summer her parents constantly fought. Her father's business was going

though a rough patch. This certainly didn't add rays of sunshine to her home. Her dad would

come home, be overstressed due to work and yell at her mother. Not that her mom was a trophy

wife. Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden ran the Dragonfly Inn down in a tiny town called Stars Hollow.

Christopher just couldn't handle the stress anymore and took his frustration out at home. During

that time, she also felt abandoned by her friends. They would never call her house, or stop by.

She, on the other hand, considerably tried to make plans with each of them, failing in turn. Then,

one day, she couldn't handle the pain anymore. Grabbing the sharp piece of metal, she examined it

for a while. Without hesitation she dragged the razor across her arm. Ignoring the twinge of pain,

she again cut her skin. This chunk of plastic covered metal was her way out, it allowed her to

release her pain. Sometime after, her friends reappeared, but by then she was gone.

Sighing to herself, Rory began her homework, knowing full well that the French test she

had tomorrow would be a failure. It was confusing them, she realized. Her family, friends and

teachers. They all wondered why her grades were slipping, and why perfect Rory Hayden wasn't

perfect anymore. Perhaps an effort wouldn't hurt. She could then quickly hide within herself, safe

from the rest of world. Because the rest of the world would not save her. Although not too long

ago, she was sure it did. Back when she was sure Logan Huntzberger would always be there for

her. She realized around Easter of that year that Logan was more then her best friend, he could be

a boyfriend. She saw him as kind, generous, extremely cute and caring. Steph noticed this and

immediately understood what was going on. She had been a firm believer that Rory and Logan

were destined for eachother. Rory would have made a move, told Logan, her Logan, the truth.

But, something stopped her. She couldn't tell him the truth, perhaps this was the beginning of her

lies. Maybe, she wasn't sure. Back to French, she commanded herself. And with that she went

numb once again, falling into darkness.


	3. Revelations

**Beautiful Lies**

AN. Sorry for the long wait guys. I've had tons of projects to do, but everything is winding down at the moment. All that is left are my finals and I'll be done high school! Yay! I'll post individual thank yous on my next chapter as I don't have the time at this point. But thank you all for your reviews! Keep them coming:) Also, in terms of any of the stores, designers, or clothing lines I might mention, I don't own them.

Chapter 3: Revelations

Rory's eyes were glazed over as she stared at her reflection. Chilton uniform on, and hair

hanging loosely down her shoulders. Barely awake she walked out of her bathroom and walked

down to the kitchen for breakfast. Or, as she dubbed it, a muffin and tea. "Hey Rory." The

brunette whipped around and saw her father, Christopher, sitting by the table eating bacon, eggs

and a bagel. Her stomach churned at the site of all those calories idly sitting there. She wouldn't

even touch food like that, it was beyond gross to her. Smiling, she made her way to him. "Hi

Daddy, what's up?" "Nothing really kid. Same old clients looking for the same insurance deals."

Half-smiling at her dad's attempt at a joke she began to fish out a muffin for breakfast. Finding the

smallest one in the pile, she made herself some tea and sat down to eat. After a few minutes her

mother joined the family at breakfast and pulled up a meal largely like Christopher's. Mentally

Rory cursed herself, her parents always ate huge meals, high in fat, and never gained weight.

Sighing to herself, she stood up, said her goodbyes, walked out the door and drove herself to

school.

As Rory pulled into her parking spot, she saw Logan, Colin, Finn and Steph all standing

around their usual spot, Finn's jet-black BMW. Nervously, she pulled her sleeves down to hide

the fresh cuts which graced her arms. They were bright pink in colour, and judging by the depth

of her cutting last night, would be one of the more thicker permanent scars. Plastering a fake

smile on her face, she walked up to the group. "Hey guys." she smiled. "Hello love," Finn replied.

"Party at my place tonight. I'm buying for the group, anything particular that you'd like, or just

your regular bottle of vodka?" Wanting to forget again, at least for a while, Rory also requested a

bottle of tequila. She could drain those easily and then stumble around after stealing other

people's drinks and spend the night getting high. Evidently, Logan had figured out her plan as he

swept her a concerned look. He knew how Rory could get, wasted, trashed and finally pass out. It

was a wonder that she hadn't gotten her stomach pumped, although she had come dangerously

close to it many times. What also bothered him was that she would drink to forget. Waking up the

next morning, she would have a terrible hangover and a complete memory lapse. He had voiced

his concerns to her, but she blew it off, saying he worried far too much. Besides, she argued, he

drank and smoked just as much as she did. The bell rang, signalling the beginning of classes, and

brought him out of his thoughts. As he walked up the stairs, he only hoped maybe she wouldn't

go crazy, if only tonight.

Rory was disgusted with herself. She had no idea why she even ate that dinner. Well, yes

she did. Steph was over, and she didn't want her friend worrying about her not eating. Currently,

the pair were in Rory's bedroom, trying to figure out what to wear to Finn's party. Privately,

Rory knew that she'd look completely fat and hideous in anything that she wore. But still, she

managed to pull off a somewhat happy-like attitude as Steph picked out her outfit, consistently of

embroidered American Eagle jeans; a olive green cami, also from American Eagle and a simple

jean jacket from Gap to finish off the outfit. It wasn't anything special, Roy thought, as she swept

clear, sparkling lipgloss over her lips. Dark green eyeshadow complimented her shirt, while the

mascara and eyeliner made her eyes pop out. Steph was more dressed up wearing a deep purple

Hollister sundress, with mauve eyeshadow to match, along with black mascara and eyeliner. Both

girls had their hair pulled back into loose buns, a tradition that they always followed whenever they went out. Walking out of Rory's bedroom door, they met up with Lorelai. "Have fun tonight

girls. I'll see you guys tomorrow." she smiled. "Bye." they replied, and breezed out the door.

Finn's mansion was teeming with drunk and high teens as Rory and Steph walked inside.

People were dancing, making out, drinking and getting high. Rory made a beeline to Finn as he

waved her tequila bottle around. She made a note to herself not to take off her jacket, no matter

how drunk she was. No one could see those cuts. Smiling at the Australian, she drank down the

customly first margarita that Finn always made for her. "Well Finn," said Steph as she approached

the two, drinking from a vodka bottle, "you look like sex tonight." "Of course I do love.

Traditional outfits for us men, polos and jeans." Rory signalled for another drink and Finn poured

her a tequila shot. It was true, she thought. The boys always did wear polos and jeans. Always

from Abercrombie and Fitch and always in dark colours. Waving these thoughts off she grabbed

her vodka bottle and walked away from Steph and Finn, looking for someone to get high with.

She needed that feeling of pure happiness that she only got from weed and alcohol. Problem being

was the munchies, she hated that feeling of hunger. Swaying a bit, she wouldn't pig out tonight if

she could help it.

"Logan!" Steph slurred, "Where's Rory?" Logan looked at Steph who was perched on

Colin's lap, obviously drunk. "Yeah Logan!" Colin yelled, spilling his whiskey in the process,

"Where's Rory? Hey! Look Steph! My drink's on the carpet. My drink has a wife!" Steph laughed

hysterically before shrieking "I'll be your wife Colin!" "I wanted to marry you!" Finn yelled from

his place on the floor. "Bloody hell! I'm heartbroken, so long dear drink that married the carpet!"

Laughter ensued from this comment as Logan walked away. Something told him to stay sober this

night, although he had no idea what. Walking towards the recreation room he found his answer,

there was Rory, passed out on the couch. Carefully, he pulled her towards himself and carried her up to one of the guest bedrooms. Among the pounding music, hysterical laughter, and smell of

booze and drugs he knew this would be a long night. "Logan." Rory whispered from her spot in

his arms. "Hey Ace," he replied, "Had a bit much?" "Nahh. Just some weed and drinks." her voice

getting purposely louder. "Look Ace, a room." "Yay! A room!" she giggled as she threw various

pillows around. "Ohhh Logan! Look!" she screamed. And with that she pulled up her jacket

sleeve, exposing the marks. And now Logan understood everything that he happened since before

the summer, what had happened to Rory. He sighed to himself as he watched her close her eyes

and pass out until the next morning.


	4. Aftershock

Chapter 4: Aftershock

Rory awoke to rays of sunshine hitting her face. Mentally, she groaned and wondered why in hell she didn't close the blinds last night, and where the closet medicine cabinet could be found to cure her hangover. "Well last night was certainly interesting, wasn't it?" Rory froze upon hearing Logan's voice. Realizing that she didn't have her jacket on, Rory anxiously pulled the covers around her. The blond boy sighed and threw her jean jacket towards her. "I know everything, there's no need to hide anymore. I just have one question though, why?" _Why?_ He's seriously asking that? Rory thought to herself. "I can wait all morning Ace, because unlike you, I don't have a raging hangover." Upon hearing Logan's words, anger took over her mind. "Are you fucking serious Logan? What the fuck is with the attitude?" She had no reason to deal with this, so Logan found out, that was an issue, but she wasn't going to sit here and deal with his attitude. Remorse flooded Logan's eyes and he quickly apologized, "Look Ace, I'm sorry for snapping at you, but you have to understand what went through my head when you showed me those scars and cuts. My whole world turned upside down. I would've never expected this from you; it's not you, this cutting and extreme dieting. Why didn't you tell me?" Eyes downcast Rory sat up, "Could you please get me some water and a painkiller? I'll tell you everything after, promise." Without saying a word, Logan got up and went to find her some medication. Rory sat there for about a minute until she couldn't hear Logan's footsteps. She gathered her things and ran from the room, jumped across the sleeping teenagers and bolted for the door.

Rory ran until she reached her home, privately congratulating herself on not only escaping Logan, but burning a decent amount of calories in the process. Bursting through the front door and saying a quick hello to her parents, she made a beeline for her room, slamming the door shut. She lay on her bed, staring at nothing, realizing that she was screwed. Logan knew, which meant by now, so did Colin, Finn and Stephanie. And soon, one of them would tell her parents, and once her mother knew, it was all over. The same thoughts swirled around her head like angry wasps, stinging her mind, over and over. She didn't know how much time went by when she suddenly awoke to her mother sitting at the foot of her bed. "So Logan called just now, he said that your cell is dead," Lorelai began, "he sounded really upset about something. Is everything ok?" Rory nodded, "Everything is fine, it's just some drama went on at the party last night and I think that he just wants to clear the air." Lorelai looked at her daughter confused, "Drama, between you and Logan? There hasn't been drama between you and Logan since when you were two and Logan stole your teddy bear because Finn bet him a candy bar that he couldn't do it." Rory weakly smiled at her mother, "It was bound to happen at some point Mom. I mean, people fight all the time." She mentally winced as an image of her parents battling it out surfaced in her mind. Lorelai nodded, got up and wished her daughter good night. Stunned, Rory looked at her clock and realized that she had slept through the entire day. She knew that she wouldn't get anywhere with her Calculus homework now, she sighed and fell asleep.

Sunday morning came bright and cheery, completely opposite to Rory's present state of mind. She knew that cutting her wrists was strictly forbidden, as Logan was guaranteed to check them for new marks now. Rory stepped into the shower and as the warm water fell around her, she drove the blade into her ankle. She couldn't describe how that little piece of mental helped her feel, actually feel, and not be numb to the world. It was as though the pain allowed her to release some of her stress. Quickly covering the new mark with gauze, she got dressed in the baggiest clothes she could find, Rory headed down the stairs. Not surprised that her parents weren't there, she fished out the smallest muffin from the basket and sat down to eat. Looking across the table she saw her cell phone charging, courtesy of her mother, she assumed. She saw that she had multiple missed calls and texts from the entire group. Rory knew that a confrontation was likely in the very near future. However, wanting to put it off for as long as possible, she grabbed her keys and went for a drive. Rory wasn't exactly sure where she was going, however she found herself heading up Logan's massive driveway. She quickly threw her Mazda in reverse and drove out of the driveway. Mentally wincing at her stupidity, she hoped that not one Huntzberger saw her car.

Inside the massive Huntzberger mansion, Shira was enjoying a nice coffee when she swore she saw Rory's car quickly drive away from their home. Looking at her watch, she thought that 10am was far too early to wake Logan on a Sunday, but something pushed her to walk up the stairs to her son's bedroom. Stopping at the door, she heard the voices of her son, Colin and Finn. "…what are we going to do then, mate?" Finn's voice questioned, full of anxiety. "It's more serious…" Colin's voice trailed off. Opening the door, Shira walked into Logan's room, "What is going on?" she questioned. The three boys looked at her and each other before Logan answered, "Just preparing for another prank, mother. A few details have yet to be finalized." Shira looked at Logan, "I know you're not telling me the truth Logan, this is something serious. What is going on?" she questioned again. Again, the boys denied it. Sighing, Shira left the room, mentioning that she thought that Rory's car had appeared on the driveway. Once his mother closed the door and walked down the stairs Logan whispered, "Tomorrow, at school, we're going to talk to Rory. If she doesn't meet with us, we're going to the Headmaster."

I haven't updated in ages, I'm sorry. I totally forgot about this site, anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Also, the same disclaimer is always in effect, I do not own Gilmore Girls.


	5. Confrontations

**Chapter 5: Confrontations**

Rory grimaced as the blinding white lights of the car passing her in the opposite lane hit her eyes. She looked for what was probably the thousandth at her backseat through her mirror and checked to

see if all of her possessions, clothes, money, _razors_ were safely stowed. She still couldn't believe that she was running away. Growing up in Hartford had always been stressful, but she would've never

run away. Things changed, she mused as she stepped on the gas pedal. She pulled up to a small convenience store to grab a bottle of water, reaching into the glove compartment she pulled out a

twenty from the huge wad of cash that was stored there. She wasn't stupid enough to use a credit card and have it traced back to her. Walking up to the counter, the guy at the cash machine turned

around and smiled at her. Rory's heart immediately clenched as this guy, probably her age, looked similar to Logan, especially in the eyes. Thanking him, she raced out of the store to her car. Locking

the doors, tears streamed down her face as she recalled the events of the day that led her to this very spot.

FLASHBACK

Rory knew the second she got up she was going to have a fucked up day. She knew that Logan was bound to talk to her, probably bringing reinforcements, AKA Stephanie, who would tail her

everywhere, especially the bathroom. She went through her basic routine of getting showered, dressed and covering her cuts with gauze. Examining the ones on her ankle, she saw that they were

slowly healing. If there was one thing that she could attest to pure brilliance it was cutting her ankles, no one would check there. She made her way down the stairs and saw that not even the maid

was home, opting to skip breakfast, she walked out the door to her car. Rory parked in her regular parking stop and wasn't shocked to find four pairs of eyes following her every move. She snuck a

peek at Logan's hazel eyes, staring for one second before looking away at the disappointment and pain that they held. Finn opened the door of her car and opening his arms, hugged her small frame.

"Please let us talk to you," he mumbled, "we want to help you, or just listen, if you want us to. We want the old Rory back, love." Looking up at Finn, she realized that a confrontation was unavoidable.

Silently cursing that they all had first period spare together, she followed them up the stairs. "Before you think that we're taking you to the Headmaster right now," Logan began, "know that we have

decided to discuss the matter with you privately first. If you don't go with us, it's straight to Santa Claus." Colin smirked at the end of Logan's speech as it was his idea to refer to their Headmaster as

Santa due to the fact that he was rather old, had a beard, and was somewhat overweight. Rory rolled her eyes but followed her friends out to the courtyard. They all took turns speaking, mentioning

that all they want to do is help her stop mutilating herself and start eating, every last one, except for Logan. The blond boy sat silently, quietly nodding to his friends' comments. Upon finishing her

speech, Stephanie rose and grabbed Rory's hand, checking it over for new marks. Rory didn't offer any resistance, knowing that if she did, Stephanie would possibly think to check her ankles. Logan

then took a deep breath, "You owe me an answer. And I'm not leaving until you explain one thing: why?" Rory looked at the boy who was her best friend, the boy who could have been her boyfriend

and knowing she didn't have a choice, explained her story, how and why this started. As she was nearing the end of her tale, she noticed that all of her friends had tears running down their faces. She

froze as waves of emotion hit her, she felt worthless, terrible, for making her friends cry like this. Logan wrapped his arms around her. "I think that we can help you defeat this. There's no need to get

anyone else involved, as long as you promise to come to us for help if you feel like you're going to relapse." Rory pulled away and seriously nodded, privately thinking to herself that that was as likely to

happen as Finn being sober on the weekend.

The day wore on and Rory forced herself to make an effort to be involved in various conversations. Her teachers were even shocked at her clear involvement to the tasks at hand. Rory had just finished

answering a question in English and slouched back down in her seat. Sitting behind her, Logan's mind was not on Shakespeare. There was no way that she could have made such a turnaround in one

day, his mind thought. Unless she's really trying and all you're doing is being negative, thought another part. Shaking his head slightly, Logan tried to regain some kind of focus. However, within a few

minutes, he was right back where he started. This wasn't just anyone; this was Rory, his Rory. Wait a second: _his Rory?_ She wasn't his, they weren't dating, and they were friends. Logan mentally

sighed and realized that he was fooling himself. It was always Rory, despite all the random girls that he had dated; they never measured up to her. He never explicitly compared his girlfriends to Rory,

but perhaps implicitly he did, and that was way the relationship never worked. Logan found himself staring at Rory and felt like the biggest idiot on the planet for not realizing that she needed help

earlier, her blazer hung off her shoulders loosely and her legs looked tiny. The bell rang loudly, signalling the end of the day, breaking Logan out of his thoughts. "Hey Rory, wait up!" he yelled as he

raced after her. "You want to hang out with me tonight? Like grab some dinner or something?" He watched as Rory scrutinised him. "Like a date?" she asked. Logan nervously nodded. "Alright, I'll meet

you at my house at 8pm." Rory said and walked to her locker. "Took you long enough." a voice said behind him. Turning around he saw Stephanie smirking at him with Colin and Finn handing her what

seemed to be rather large amounts of cash, looking thoroughly displeased.

Driving home, Rory kept replaying his words in her head. Maybe this might help me feel better about myself, she thought. I highly doubt it, you already made him cry because you can't control yourself,

she argued with herself. Rory reached her home and parked her car, she said hello to her parents who mentioned that they were leaving for an important business trip in about an hour for the rest of

the week. Rory nodded, and walking up to her parents, she gave them huge hugs, wishing they good luck and quickly said good-bye. She ran upstairs, took a quick shower and waited for them to

leave. Immediately, once they left, Rory began throwing things into her suitcase. With every object that landed in her suitcase, she heard that condescending voice in her mind, telling her that leaving

was the best idea; she had done enough damage as it was. Rory left three letters on her bed: one for her parents, one for Logan and one for her other friends. At least now Logan will be able to date

a normal girl, she thought, and with that, threw all of her luggage in her car. Rory turned on her car, silently saying good-bye to the house that she grew up in, a house that had good, but also tragic

memories, and drove away; her first stop, the bank to withdraw some money.

END OF FLASHBACK

Rory came out of her daydream by the sound of her phone ringing. It was 8:15pm and Logan was calling, probably wondering where she was. Rory sighed as she wiped away her tears, and drove

away.

Back in Hartford, Logan was wondering where Rory was. He decided to get out of his car and knocking on the door, he found it open, he walked inside. Although all the lights were on, the house

seemed eerily quiet. "Rory, are you ready yet? We're going to be late for dinner." He yelled through the house. Hearing no response, he walked up to Rory's room, knowing that her parents were away.

He pushed the door open and found her room in ruins, shelves and dressers completely empty. His eyes focused on a letter with his name on it. Quickly, he ripped it open, eyes furiously reading every

word that she had written. His heart dropped as he pulled his cell phone out, dialling Colin's number, knowing the other three friends were at his house, watching movies. "She's gone." He mumbled

into phone.

I hoped that you guys liked this chapter. I'll try to update once a week. Please read and review.


	6. Preseverance

**Chapter 6: Perseverance**

"Seriously, I'm worried that he's going to stay in that position forever." Logan muttered as he tried to get Finn's attention by waving his arm in front of the Australian's face. "Don't worry," Stephanie called "I have a solution: gin and tonic. Actually, it's

really gin and gin." The blonde girl snapped her fingers in front of Finn's face and placed the tumbler in his hand. As like a puppet on a string, Finn drank the alcohol, finally showing signs of life. "So let me get this straight," Colin began "she left Logan a

letter telling him that he doesn't really want to date a girl like her because she thinks that she's way too fucked up to function and that she cares for him greatly. She left the rest of us and her parents a letter saying pretty much the exact same thing,

except the whole dating thing." Logan nodded his head. For once he was at a loss, he had thousands of dollars in his trust fund, a family name that carried a lot of weight, and he couldn't help Rory, _his_ Rory. Fuck. She was out there somewhere running

away from everything. Sure she had run away before, but she was six, mad at Logan for pushing her into a puddle, and the farthest she got to was Stephanie's pool house. But now, she was running away somewhere that wasn't Stephanie's pool

house. And privately, Logan was terrified that she might not make it back if something forced her hand at cutting or severe starvation. In a moment of clarity, he realized that she was faking it today. She was putting on one hell of a show to convince him

that she was ok. And he bought it, completely bought it. Logan prided himself on knowing Rory the best, but in reality he didn't know her the best, he knew her the longest and even that didn't mean all that much now.

"Alright mates, enough of this." Finn yelled as he stood up and slightly wobbled. "We're finding her, bringing her back home and finding her some help. First thing's first: Colin, call Clinton and pose as Christopher and tell them that Rory is sick, with

mononucleosis. Then pose as Mitchum and mention the same story, that way it'll appear that they got sick from each other." The other two teenagers stared at Finn in wonder. "What? I sometimes pay attention in biology. And we all know Colin does the

best adult imitations." Puzzled, Stephanie broke into the conversation, "Darling, as much as I find it sexy when you sound intelligence, you haven't given me a job yet." Finn nodded, "Well love, Colin, you and I are going to school like nothing is the matter

tomorrow. That way we won't arise any suspicion when we conveniently fall ill tomorrow evening." Logan looked up at the end of Finn's speech, "I'm going to look for hotels in the surrounding area; hopefully I'll track her down." The group nodded and

left Logan's room, walking down the stairs. Hearing voices in the living room, they ducked into the kitchen. "Ah Logan, my boy, Colin, Finn and Miss Stephanie; how welcome to see you all." Turning around, the four teenagers came face to face with

Richard Gilmore, Rory's grandfather. "Hello sir." Logan greeted him, breaking out of his state of shock. Richard shook his hand as well as the others'. "I thought you and Emily were going with Lorelai and Christopher to Boston on their business trip."

Logan said with confusion painted on his face. "Oh we are my dear boy. I just wanted to grab something from your father. By the way, have you seen Rory? She wasn't at home and we wanted to say good-bye to her." Thinking on his feet Finn began,

"She decided to go to Hartford library to study. It's much quieter there." "Well of course she is. We should've stopped by there; unfortunately it's too late now." Emily Gilmore snapped, making her way into the kitchen, an envelope in her hands. Quickly

greeting the four teenagers, she led Richard out of the kitchen, murmuring about the maid's incompetence and how she should have hired a new one before leaving. Colin exhaled and sank into a chair, "That was _too close_." Nodding Logan whispered,

"We're on our own. We have to bring her home before the weekend is over: perseverance my friends, perseverance."

Rory was no good with directions; frankly she was sure she was lost. Around 10pm she realized that she had to spend the night somewhere. Rory drove past a sign that said "Welcome to Stars Hollow: founded in 1779". She had visited small towns in

the past with her parents during various family vacations and enjoyed the feel of them. Rory parked in front of a diner, apparently called "Luke's", and seeing that he was just closing up, she ran inside. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the man,

presumably Luke turned around. He wore a flannel shirt and a baseball cap backwards. "We're closing up for the night." He mentioned as he cleaned the counter. "I figured, I was just wondering if you knew of a place to stay the night." Rory smiled, _fake_

smiled, she corrected herself. "The Independence Inn is a decent place; it's about 10 miles away. Nice rooms and the serve breakfast, lunch and dinner." Luke advised, privately thinking that this girl could do with a good meal, or meals. Thanking him Rory

turned around and began to leave. "Just a second, are you old enough to travel by yourself?" Luke asked her. "I'm on my way to a family reunion and I got lost. I'm terrible with directions." Rory called back, thinking to herself that she really should keep a

running tally of her lies.

About 45 minutes later, Rory had checked into the Independence Inn. The man at the desk, Michel, looked strangely at her when she paid fully in cash. Privately congratulating herself on mentioning that she went by her middle name, Leigh, she placed

her luggage at the corner of the room. At least this way she wouldn't be tracked down so easily, she thought as she looked for her toothpaste, toothbrush and most importantly, her razor. She thought that she could at least stay in Stars Hollow for a

while before planning her next move. The people seemed helpful, although she was fully aware that this was a town where everyone knew everyone, so she would have to be careful about whom she spoke to. Sighing, she got up and made her way to

the bathroom.

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First off I wanted to say thanks for all of your amazing reviews. Originally I didn't have Rory go to Stars Hollow, but I thought up a new direction with this. Also, I don't think I'll update this upcoming week as I have an exam to study for, but I'll try. I'm

done school on April 4th anyway, so it'll be back to weekly updates then. Thanks for reading! Please review as well!


	7. Hiding

**Chapter 7: Hiding**

Logan was used to having things go his way. People could easily be bought with his money, or terrified by his Dad. However, as Logan sat at his computer, completely and totally exhausted, he wondered if those two things could actually help in this

situation. He found multiple inns in the local Hartford area and the surrounding small towns, but it was going to take a lot of effort to find Rory. She was able to hide _everything_ from him for months, so she could probably hide herself quite well in

Connecticut. Logan sighed as he got up and rubbed his eyes, scanning his darkened room, his eyes rested on his favourite photograph of Rory and himself. It was taken on his and Rory's 6th birthday. The Huntzberger and Gilmore families had travelled

to Barbados. The picture was candid, probably take by Lorelai. Logan and Rory were sitting on the beach together looking the sunset, sharing birthday cake, smiling at each other. At that time Rory was happy, Logan mused, and for what was probably

the thousandth time, he wished that she had told him what was going on. Walking back to his computer, Logan realized that it was 4am; this "find possible hotels where Rory could be" mission was taking longer than originally planned. He exhaled the

breath he was holding in, shut the computer down, jumped into bed, and fell asleep.

Rory awoke the next morning feeling shockingly rested. Perhaps it was the quiet feel of the inn, or the comforting thought of not being caught by her parents. Regardless, Rory was feeling decent. She made her way to the shower, got dressed in simple

jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, placed her possessions into her purse and left the room. She walked down the stairs, nodding at Michel, before promptly running into someone. "I'm so sorry," the voice apologized, "I'm sort of accident-prone, chop off

some fingers, burn my arms, scrape my face, kind of thing." Rory silently wondered to herself how someone could rant as much as her mother; truthfully, she didn't think it was possible. Brushing off her jeans, she came face-to-face with a slightly

overweight woman, with her hair in pigtails. "I'm Sookie, the head chef of the Independence Inn. You must be Rory, or Leigh? We're not completely sure." Rory shook her hand, "Well, I generally go by my middle name Leigh. It's confusing because Rory is

my nickname to my first name." Sookie nodded in understanding. "Well it's breakfast time, and good thing that I ran into you. Would you like some food?" the chef asked. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Rory questioned angrily. "Well nothing," Sookie

began, her smile faltering, "I just thought that you'd be hungry after travelling all day and checking in late." Rory was trapped. She couldn't just say no to breakfast, she had a feeling that Sookie would closely watch her eating habits if she did. "Sure,

breakfast sounds great." Rory answered a few seconds later, privately thinking that she would have to purge it later.

A couple of hours later, Rory was wandering aimlessly around the town. She had seen all of the shops around the town square and had probably met the entire population of the town as well. They seemed nice enough, a little too pushy perhaps, but

nice enough. Rory had slipped up a few times in her introductions, forgetting to call herself Leigh, but no one seemed to notice. She had now found the gazebo in the town square and quietly sat down, hoping to have a bit of a rest. Her eyes shot open

in panic moments later when she realized that she hadn't bothered to call Chilton to fake an illness to get out of school. Whipping out her cell phone and forcing her voice to become raspy, she dialled the number. "Chilton Academy, Margaret speaking.

How may I assist you today?" Rory strategically coughed, "Hi, this is Rory Gilmore." "Oh yes, Miss Gilmore. Your father called yesterday evening to inform us of your mononucleosis. We are terribly sorry that you'll be away from school for the next few

weeks. All of your coursework shall be faxed to your home as per your father's request. Would you like to discuss something specific?" Margaret questioned. "Um… no thank you, that'll be alright ma'am." Rory stuttered as she hung up the phone. Who the

hell had called her in sick? Rory thought, as she twirled the phone in her hands. The phone had become a silver blur once the idea hit her: Colin. He was the only one of the group who could pull off believable impressions of their parents. Rory silently

thanked her friend and sat back down on the bench. She must have fallen asleep because the sun was setting and someone was shaking her awake. Rory groggily rose and being unsteady in her gait, fell forward. "Are you ok?" a male voice asked her.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just fell asleep on the gazebo and you woke me up and being half-asleep, I fell forward." Rory explained as she looked up. The guy was tall, almost 6 feet; he had brown hair and brown eyes and a nice smile. "I'm Dean." He stated. "I'm

Leigh." Rory said, as she shook his hand, a blush spreading through her cheeks.

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Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I was handing out job applications, dealing with friends and family, etc. Thank you all for your reviews! Also, please don't worry, this will be a ROGAN, I just thought that throwing Dean into the mix couldn't hurt

ha-ha.


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